What do you think?
Rate this book
Witchcraft from the Inside: Origins of the Fastest Growing Religious Movement in America
The word Witchcraft has been misunderstood for centuries. In the past 500 years, millions of people have faced persecution, torture, and even death after being accused of practicing Witchcraft.
For many people the word "Witch" still conjures up images of secret spells and diabolical midnight rituals. So what exactly is Witchcraft (also called Wica or Wicca), and how did it evolve into one of today's fastest-growing religions?
Witchcraft From the Inside presents the history of Witchcraft―from its roots in ancient fertility religions, to the madness of the Malleus Maleficarum and the European Witch trials, to the growth of modern Wicca in Britain and the United States. Essays contributed by leading Wiccan authorities explore the present state of Wicca and provide a glimpse into the future of this peaceful nature religion.
Author Ray Buckland studied Witchcraft under Gerald Gardner, the man largely credited for the revival of Witchcraft and the establishment of Wicca as a modern religion. Mr. Buckland was instrumental in bringing Gardnerian Witchcraft from England to the United States and is considered to be one of the leading American authorities on Witchcraft.
In the following excerpt, Mr. Buckland explains the mundane truths behind the seemingly horrific ingredients of the legendary "witches' brews".
We know, from Shakespeare and other sources, that the Witches threw into their pots the most gruesome ingredients, right? There were things like the tongue of a snake, bloody fingers, catgut, donkey's eyes, frog's foot, goat's beard, a Jew's ear, mouse tail, snake head, swine snout, wolf's foot, and so on. Pretty disgusting by the sound of it―if you take them at face value! In fact these were all the most innocuous of ingredients: normal plants and herbs.
Today all plants have a Latin name, so that they may be distinct and positively identified. Yet years ago they were known only by common, local names. A plant or herb might be known by one name in one part of the country and a quite different name in another part of the country. And these names were colorful ones, frequently given to the plant because of its looks, color, or other attributes.
In the above list, adder's tongue was a name given to the dogtooth violet ( Erythronium americanum ); bloody fingers was the foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ); catgut was the hoary pea ( Tephrosia virginiana ); donkey's eyes were the seeds of the cowage plant ( Mucuna pruriens ); frog's foot was the bulbous buttercup ( Ranunculus bulbosus ); goat's beard was the vegetable oyster ( Tragopogon porrofolius ); Jew's ear was a fungus that grew on elder trees and elm trees ( Peziza auricula ); mouse tail was common stonecrop ( Sedum acre ); snake head was balmony ( Chelone glabra ); swine snout was the dandelion ( Taraxacum dens leonis ); and wolf's foot was bugle weed ( Lycopus virginicus ). So the seemingly fearsome concoctions that the Witches mixed up in their cauldrons were nothing more than simple herbs going into a cookpot!
For many people the word "Witch" still conjures up images of secret spells and diabolical midnight rituals. So what exactly is Witchcraft (also called Wica or Wicca), and how did it evolve into one of today's fastest-growing religions?
Witchcraft From the Inside presents the history of Witchcraft―from its roots in ancient fertility religions, to the madness of the Malleus Maleficarum and the European Witch trials, to the growth of modern Wicca in Britain and the United States. Essays contributed by leading Wiccan authorities explore the present state of Wicca and provide a glimpse into the future of this peaceful nature religion.
Author Ray Buckland studied Witchcraft under Gerald Gardner, the man largely credited for the revival of Witchcraft and the establishment of Wicca as a modern religion. Mr. Buckland was instrumental in bringing Gardnerian Witchcraft from England to the United States and is considered to be one of the leading American authorities on Witchcraft.
In the following excerpt, Mr. Buckland explains the mundane truths behind the seemingly horrific ingredients of the legendary "witches' brews".
We know, from Shakespeare and other sources, that the Witches threw into their pots the most gruesome ingredients, right? There were things like the tongue of a snake, bloody fingers, catgut, donkey's eyes, frog's foot, goat's beard, a Jew's ear, mouse tail, snake head, swine snout, wolf's foot, and so on. Pretty disgusting by the sound of it―if you take them at face value! In fact these were all the most innocuous of ingredients: normal plants and herbs.
Today all plants have a Latin name, so that they may be distinct and positively identified. Yet years ago they were known only by common, local names. A plant or herb might be known by one name in one part of the country and a quite different name in another part of the country. And these names were colorful ones, frequently given to the plant because of its looks, color, or other attributes.
In the above list, adder's tongue was a name given to the dogtooth violet ( Erythronium americanum ); bloody fingers was the foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ); catgut was the hoary pea ( Tephrosia virginiana ); donkey's eyes were the seeds of the cowage plant ( Mucuna pruriens ); frog's foot was the bulbous buttercup ( Ranunculus bulbosus ); goat's beard was the vegetable oyster ( Tragopogon porrofolius ); Jew's ear was a fungus that grew on elder trees and elm trees ( Peziza auricula ); mouse tail was common stonecrop ( Sedum acre ); snake head was balmony ( Chelone glabra ); swine snout was the dandelion ( Taraxacum dens leonis ); and wolf's foot was bugle weed ( Lycopus virginicus ). So the seemingly fearsome concoctions that the Witches mixed up in their cauldrons were nothing more than simple herbs going into a cookpot!
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
77 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Raymond Buckland
93 books365 followersRaymond Buckland was a highly influential figure in the development of modern Wicca and the occult in the United States. Born in London, he became interested in the supernatural at an early age and was initiated into the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition in 1963 by Monique Wilson, a high priestess appointed by Gerald Gardner. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1962, Buckland introduced Gardnerian Wicca to the country, founding its first coven in New York in 1964. He later developed his own tradition, Seax-Wica, inspired by Anglo-Saxon paganism, and published The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft to make it accessible to all.
In 1968, he established the first Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in the U.S., which helped normalize and educate the public about Wicca. Over the course of his career, Buckland wrote more than sixty books on Wicca, divination, and the occult, including Witchcraft from the Inside and Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, both regarded as essential texts in Neopaganism.
Throughout his life, Buckland remained a prolific teacher, writer, and practitioner. He continued to write and teach until his death in 2017, leaving behind a lasting legacy that shaped the spiritual practices of countless Wiccans and Pagans worldwide.
In 1968, he established the first Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in the U.S., which helped normalize and educate the public about Wicca. Over the course of his career, Buckland wrote more than sixty books on Wicca, divination, and the occult, including Witchcraft from the Inside and Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, both regarded as essential texts in Neopaganism.
Throughout his life, Buckland remained a prolific teacher, writer, and practitioner. He continued to write and teach until his death in 2017, leaving behind a lasting legacy that shaped the spiritual practices of countless Wiccans and Pagans worldwide.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 18, 2012
Modern witches should read this book simply for the historical context (of the early 70's) it provides. It's completely unlike most modern books on Wicca. There's little to no fluff, and it's not a how-to. It's Buckland's interpretation of a wide variety of historical and anthropological "facts" (how many facts? Hard to know - the scholarship back then wasn't the best - but you could do some digging as many of them have reference materials quoted - and even with the possible inaccuracies, I'll bet this little book is far, far more accurate than a lot of modern popular Wiccan books.) Buckland talks about the history of pagan religions in Europe, folk traditions that have stemmed from paganism, and then modern Wicca. However, one should do some more homework and research, since we now know so much more about European pre-history than we did in 1971. For example, Buckland relies heavily on Margaret Murray, and her work has had a lot of doubt cast upon it. Regardless, it's still a very interesting and short read, with more historical information packed into it than five modern books about Wicca. Buckland knew a lot of the people who were groundbreaking in the religion, it's very worth it to hear him tell their stories.
If nothing else, it's a hoot to read him going off on Sybil Leek and Alex Sanders. It's also neat to see the few photographs of 70's era Witches - including one of Gardner himself.
If nothing else, it's a hoot to read him going off on Sybil Leek and Alex Sanders. It's also neat to see the few photographs of 70's era Witches - including one of Gardner himself.
March 18, 2021
A truly enjoyable read for me, and a great starting point for those interested in the history of witchcraft.
May 24, 2024
AN HONEST OVERVIEW OF THE “OLD RELIGION”
Raymond Buckland (1934-2017) was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, who was a high priest in both the Gardnerian and Seax-Wica traditions.
He wrote in the Foreword to the 3rd edition (1995) of this book, “For about four hundred years Witchcraft, to all intents and purposes, has been dead… bludgeoned to death in the late Middle Ages… there have been many hundreds … of books written on the subject of Witchcraft---almost all… from the point of view of the Christian Church. However, with the new ‘Age of Enlightenment,’ with the ‘thinking people’ of the twentieth century, a few books have finally appeared endeavoring to look at the subject from a less biased point of view… What they found was enlightening. Witchcraft, they said … was not devil-worship and black magick but a benign, positive, nature-based religion… Witchcraft had not died after all! It had lain hidden… awaiting the chance to once more come out and practice openly and unafraid…. In England the late Dr. Gerald Brousseau Gardner was the first to speak out for the Witches… Gardner reluctantly saw ‘the Craft’ as a dying religion… But more than forty years have now passed since Gardner first wrote and the scene has changed dramatically… ‘The Craft’ has grown at an unprecedented rate…. The first edition of this present book… appeared in 1971 and was written … because Gardner’s books, and a few others… had gone out of print… this present volume, newly updated and enlarged is … giving a view of Witchcraft in its formative years in the United States and … at the state of the religion today.”
Of the ‘Witch Hunts’ of the Middle Ages, he comments, “There have been many estimates made of the total number of people who lost their lives during the persecutions. A generally accepted estimate is nine million. However, this is not nine million WITCHES who were executed. (And it certainly is not nine million WOMEN who were executed… there were also many men and children.) Of the nine million very small proportion were actually followers of the Old Religion, but most were, in fact, devout Christians wrongly accused.” (Pg. 51)
He quotes Pennethorne Hughes, who wrote: “The secrets and rites of the Witches were not committed to paper… the record of Witchcraft is that set down by its enemies. It is as though, in a world conquered by the Third Reich, all Jewish tradition and history had been destroyed---together with the Bible and the Jews themselves---so that later generations knew of Jews only as portrayed by the men of Nuremberg.” (Pg. 84)
He notes, “there are a number of Witch Queens. Yet there is no one ‘Queen of all Witches’… despite occasional claims to the contrary. Covens are basically autonomous, so there is no one leader, no equivalent of the Roman Catholic Pope or the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury. Anyone claiming such a position is, quite bluntly, a fraud... The word ‘Witch’ is used equally by both male and female Wiccans. ‘Warlock’ is never used within the Craft. That comes from an old Scottish word, ‘warloga,’ meaning ‘deceiver’ or ‘traitor’ and was applied to anyone who, during the persecution, gave away the names of other coven members.” (Pg. 122-123)
He explains, “One of the most popular symbols for jewelry is the pentagram, or five-pointed star… it symbolizes the life force… Unfortunately low budget movies have proclaimed it a ‘mark of the Devil’! Certainly many Satanists use the INVERTED (i.e., single point down and two points up) pentagram---often superimposed over a goat’s head or the head of the Devil---as their symbol. The Wiccan/magical one has the single point at the top. Actually the inverted pentagram can also be found in Witchcraft. For example, it is the symbol of the Second Degree in some traditions. But this does not mean that Wica is in any way associated with Satanism; it is not. It just means that symbols are exactly that: symbols.” (Pg. 126-127)
He points out, “A point very much emphasized by members of the Draft, however, is that magick is always secondary. First and foremost Wica is religion. Worship of the old gods will always come before anything else; magick is always secondary. If anyone wants to join a coven just so that they can work magick, they are trying to join for the wrong reason (and probably won’t get in, at least not to a legitimate coven). If all you want to do is work magick then you don’t NEED Witchcraft. Witchcraft is a religion, but magick is a practice; anyone can do---or attempt to do---magick. If that’s your interest, then become a magician, not a Witch.” (Pg. 138)
He argues, “Because of the many hundreds of years of Christian propaganda, presenting such horrendous misconceptions of what Witchcraft is, a large number of unsavory characters get attracted to it… There are people operating what they term ‘Witchcraft covens’ which are no such thing, or which are the Satanic variety which has no connection with true Witchcraft. Do not get trapped into one of these. Witchcraft is a positive, nature-based religion of brotherly and sisterly love.” (Pg. 144)
He asks “is Wica really a descendant of the Old Religion in an unbroken line, as Gerald Gardner and others have claimed?... Gardner claimed that the coven into which he was initiated, in the late 1930s, was such a coven. It was led by ‘Old Dorothy’… Doreen Valiente has admitted to authoring much of the Gardnerian ‘Book of Shadows’ which Gardner presented in the 1950s. But what of that original coven?... Whether or not modern Wica was totally invented by Gardner and others will probably never be known for sure, however it must be admitted as a strong possibility. But there is still another possibility that yes, there WAS an existing coven into which Gardner was initiated… though if so, there is virtually nothing left of its writings.” (Pg. 145-146)
He acknowledges, “Shortly after Gardner presented Wica to the world others came running out, making similar claims to ancient Wican heritage… Others have been completely unable to provide anything approaching proof that theirs is truly the unbroken continuation of the ancient religion. It would seem, then, that there is no UNBROKEN tradition. That Wica was a religion of old is certain… But that there have been covens in the second half of the twentieth century who have an unbroken lineage seems unlikely. Not that this matters, of course. If Gardner had made up the whole thing, basic idea and all, from scratch, it would not negate Wica as a viable religion today. Its rapid growth around the world attests to its ‘rightness’ in terms of people’s religious needs.” (Pg. 147-148)
He admits, “today, there are many descendants of these covens who feel they have fine lineage but are, in fact, no more ‘Gardnerian’ than their neighboring eclectic groups. The degree system, which should have worked well, collapsed. (This was part of the reason that this author left Gardnerian Wica at that time.)” (Pg. 151)
He observes, “A bit of clarification is in order here. All Wiccans are Neo-pagans, but Neo-pagans are not necessarily Wiccans…. As the movement has grown in this country and abroad, the numbers of Wiccans---those interested in delving into the mysteries that surround life, death, and the turnings of the natural world---has grown vastly. Much greater in number, however, are those … who nonetheless subscribe to a worldview which honors the Earth and seeks to be at peace with Nature and acknowledges the Ancient Gods. As such the Neo-pagans and the Witches are close allies.” (Pg. 155-156)
He also notes, “the fact remains that most traditions do acknowledge a Goddess AND a God. There is a feeling that we need to get away from the harsh patriarchy of Christianity but, at the same time, the pendulum should not swing completely in the other direction, for that would be equally inequitable.” (Pg. 171)
He concludes, “True Witchcraft, or Wica… is a living, positive religion that is growing rapidly as more and more people learn the truth about it. It is a viable alternative to many of the long established religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism. It is, at last, regaining its rightful place as a religion of the people---Wica, the Old Religion: the Craft of the Wise.” (Pg. 197)
This book will be of keen interest to those seeking an introduction/overview of Witchcraft and Wica.
Raymond Buckland (1934-2017) was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, who was a high priest in both the Gardnerian and Seax-Wica traditions.
He wrote in the Foreword to the 3rd edition (1995) of this book, “For about four hundred years Witchcraft, to all intents and purposes, has been dead… bludgeoned to death in the late Middle Ages… there have been many hundreds … of books written on the subject of Witchcraft---almost all… from the point of view of the Christian Church. However, with the new ‘Age of Enlightenment,’ with the ‘thinking people’ of the twentieth century, a few books have finally appeared endeavoring to look at the subject from a less biased point of view… What they found was enlightening. Witchcraft, they said … was not devil-worship and black magick but a benign, positive, nature-based religion… Witchcraft had not died after all! It had lain hidden… awaiting the chance to once more come out and practice openly and unafraid…. In England the late Dr. Gerald Brousseau Gardner was the first to speak out for the Witches… Gardner reluctantly saw ‘the Craft’ as a dying religion… But more than forty years have now passed since Gardner first wrote and the scene has changed dramatically… ‘The Craft’ has grown at an unprecedented rate…. The first edition of this present book… appeared in 1971 and was written … because Gardner’s books, and a few others… had gone out of print… this present volume, newly updated and enlarged is … giving a view of Witchcraft in its formative years in the United States and … at the state of the religion today.”
Of the ‘Witch Hunts’ of the Middle Ages, he comments, “There have been many estimates made of the total number of people who lost their lives during the persecutions. A generally accepted estimate is nine million. However, this is not nine million WITCHES who were executed. (And it certainly is not nine million WOMEN who were executed… there were also many men and children.) Of the nine million very small proportion were actually followers of the Old Religion, but most were, in fact, devout Christians wrongly accused.” (Pg. 51)
He quotes Pennethorne Hughes, who wrote: “The secrets and rites of the Witches were not committed to paper… the record of Witchcraft is that set down by its enemies. It is as though, in a world conquered by the Third Reich, all Jewish tradition and history had been destroyed---together with the Bible and the Jews themselves---so that later generations knew of Jews only as portrayed by the men of Nuremberg.” (Pg. 84)
He notes, “there are a number of Witch Queens. Yet there is no one ‘Queen of all Witches’… despite occasional claims to the contrary. Covens are basically autonomous, so there is no one leader, no equivalent of the Roman Catholic Pope or the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury. Anyone claiming such a position is, quite bluntly, a fraud... The word ‘Witch’ is used equally by both male and female Wiccans. ‘Warlock’ is never used within the Craft. That comes from an old Scottish word, ‘warloga,’ meaning ‘deceiver’ or ‘traitor’ and was applied to anyone who, during the persecution, gave away the names of other coven members.” (Pg. 122-123)
He explains, “One of the most popular symbols for jewelry is the pentagram, or five-pointed star… it symbolizes the life force… Unfortunately low budget movies have proclaimed it a ‘mark of the Devil’! Certainly many Satanists use the INVERTED (i.e., single point down and two points up) pentagram---often superimposed over a goat’s head or the head of the Devil---as their symbol. The Wiccan/magical one has the single point at the top. Actually the inverted pentagram can also be found in Witchcraft. For example, it is the symbol of the Second Degree in some traditions. But this does not mean that Wica is in any way associated with Satanism; it is not. It just means that symbols are exactly that: symbols.” (Pg. 126-127)
He points out, “A point very much emphasized by members of the Draft, however, is that magick is always secondary. First and foremost Wica is religion. Worship of the old gods will always come before anything else; magick is always secondary. If anyone wants to join a coven just so that they can work magick, they are trying to join for the wrong reason (and probably won’t get in, at least not to a legitimate coven). If all you want to do is work magick then you don’t NEED Witchcraft. Witchcraft is a religion, but magick is a practice; anyone can do---or attempt to do---magick. If that’s your interest, then become a magician, not a Witch.” (Pg. 138)
He argues, “Because of the many hundreds of years of Christian propaganda, presenting such horrendous misconceptions of what Witchcraft is, a large number of unsavory characters get attracted to it… There are people operating what they term ‘Witchcraft covens’ which are no such thing, or which are the Satanic variety which has no connection with true Witchcraft. Do not get trapped into one of these. Witchcraft is a positive, nature-based religion of brotherly and sisterly love.” (Pg. 144)
He asks “is Wica really a descendant of the Old Religion in an unbroken line, as Gerald Gardner and others have claimed?... Gardner claimed that the coven into which he was initiated, in the late 1930s, was such a coven. It was led by ‘Old Dorothy’… Doreen Valiente has admitted to authoring much of the Gardnerian ‘Book of Shadows’ which Gardner presented in the 1950s. But what of that original coven?... Whether or not modern Wica was totally invented by Gardner and others will probably never be known for sure, however it must be admitted as a strong possibility. But there is still another possibility that yes, there WAS an existing coven into which Gardner was initiated… though if so, there is virtually nothing left of its writings.” (Pg. 145-146)
He acknowledges, “Shortly after Gardner presented Wica to the world others came running out, making similar claims to ancient Wican heritage… Others have been completely unable to provide anything approaching proof that theirs is truly the unbroken continuation of the ancient religion. It would seem, then, that there is no UNBROKEN tradition. That Wica was a religion of old is certain… But that there have been covens in the second half of the twentieth century who have an unbroken lineage seems unlikely. Not that this matters, of course. If Gardner had made up the whole thing, basic idea and all, from scratch, it would not negate Wica as a viable religion today. Its rapid growth around the world attests to its ‘rightness’ in terms of people’s religious needs.” (Pg. 147-148)
He admits, “today, there are many descendants of these covens who feel they have fine lineage but are, in fact, no more ‘Gardnerian’ than their neighboring eclectic groups. The degree system, which should have worked well, collapsed. (This was part of the reason that this author left Gardnerian Wica at that time.)” (Pg. 151)
He observes, “A bit of clarification is in order here. All Wiccans are Neo-pagans, but Neo-pagans are not necessarily Wiccans…. As the movement has grown in this country and abroad, the numbers of Wiccans---those interested in delving into the mysteries that surround life, death, and the turnings of the natural world---has grown vastly. Much greater in number, however, are those … who nonetheless subscribe to a worldview which honors the Earth and seeks to be at peace with Nature and acknowledges the Ancient Gods. As such the Neo-pagans and the Witches are close allies.” (Pg. 155-156)
He also notes, “the fact remains that most traditions do acknowledge a Goddess AND a God. There is a feeling that we need to get away from the harsh patriarchy of Christianity but, at the same time, the pendulum should not swing completely in the other direction, for that would be equally inequitable.” (Pg. 171)
He concludes, “True Witchcraft, or Wica… is a living, positive religion that is growing rapidly as more and more people learn the truth about it. It is a viable alternative to many of the long established religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism. It is, at last, regaining its rightful place as a religion of the people---Wica, the Old Religion: the Craft of the Wise.” (Pg. 197)
This book will be of keen interest to those seeking an introduction/overview of Witchcraft and Wica.
November 21, 2023
An excellent choice for those seeking information regarding the history of The Old Religion. This book is not for those seeking in-depth guides on rites, however, it does cover ceremonial coven rites such as initiation, Samhain, etc. Buckland speaks with certainty however do not let this discourage you from going on your own path. It also provides excellent sources of additional information.
October 16, 2018
Sometimes it's good just to go back to the older works. The information was interesting, although the writing kind of rambled sometimes with no real segues/transitions. Overall, I found information I'd never encountered before and made for an easy read. I'll keep it in my collection.
August 2, 2018
Re-hashing of old material covered by a thousand different authors (including the author of this volume). Just an overview of the neo-pagan/ Wiccan belief system and development.
May 27, 2020
It was disappointing to discover that, even though this was the revised edition, the revision process did not include footnotes for purported historical facts. The text contained several easily identifiable historical errors. It made the rest of the book suspect. In addition, the "future of Paganism" chapter contained essays by three notable Pagans,the contents of which had been made largely irrelevant at the time of revision. One chapter I did like was the one on recent Craft history. I will not recommend this title again to my coven.
August 17, 2016
It's worth a look for the account of Wicca in the 'sixties and 'seventies. There's a lot of Murrayism to be found here, and a chunk of the text is devoted to the European witch hunts and Salem witch trials. A bit unnecessary, I felt. I would have enjoyed more time spent on Wicca gaining a foothold stateside, to be honest. Buckland has to have a lot more to say, being one of the movers and shakers who brought Wicca here!
Someone just getting started would get more out of this book, so long as they did a bit of extra reading with regards to Murray's debunked theories.
Someone just getting started would get more out of this book, so long as they did a bit of extra reading with regards to Murray's debunked theories.
September 29, 2008
A superb overview of life in a wiccan coven.
November 15, 2008
Buckland is a bit overly fond of his exclamation marks, but otherwise this is a very informative read. His tone is educated but very comforting at the same time, like talking to a friend.
March 16, 2013
i really enjoyed reading this book, anyone intrested in witchcraft history will love this, brilliant
August 2, 2018
A general overview of neo paganism. Nothing new or interesting here just a brief overview of a modern religious "revival". Pretty bland.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews